telent, the technology services company, has delivered a Local Area Network infrastructure to Serco Docklands, the franchise operator of the Docklands Light Railway.
telent has also delivered the first IP-based application to operate on the LAN, an innovative Public Address (PA) system servicing over 30 DLR stations including Canary Wharf and Poplar.
Serco Docklands, the first company in the UK to deploy such a system, selected telent in 2008 to undertake the system design and implementation of both the LAN network and PA system capitalising on telent’s extensive rail, IT and acoustic consultancy expertise.
The LAN features gigabit Ethernet Cisco Systems switches throughout the network, with stackable gigabit Ethernet switches at the edge to provide for future growth. Dual linked for resilience, the LAN interoperates with existing TDM-based network infrastructure and is easily upgradeable as more bandwidth is required over time.
The PA system, known as iPAM, was supplied by Application Solutions Limited. It is a monitored PA solution specifically designed for the harsh environments found at railway stations and performs equally well over legacy and new data networks.
telent will also continue to provide maintenance support and network monitoring and management from its premises in Stratford and Canary Wharf.
Michael Evans, Serco Docklands’ Communications Engineer, says, “It is essential to Serco Docklands to provide its passengers with the best service possible. To achieve this, we knew a key step would be to move towards IP communications. telent was selected as the systems integrator and installer and has delivered the project which will allow us to provide passengers with guaranteed consistency between audio/visual updates regarding train arrivals and departures. The close proximity of both companies has facilitated the smooth delivery of the project and will continue to do so through the provision of maintenance support.”
Adrian Groves, telent’s General Manager Metro, says, “We are delighted to have given Serco Docklands the network they need to fulfil their business objectives as well as a ground-breaking PA system. We used our extensive domain knowledge, expertise and skills to ensure a professional project delivery on time and to budget. In October 2009, our solution was highly commended at the Light Rail Awards in London, which is testament to the importance and success of this project. We are very proud to say we have delivered one of the UK metro sector’s first Voice-over-IP (VoIP) networks to Serco Docklands and look forward to helping them migrate their other services and systems onto the new network.”
With annual revenues of over £350 million, telent has decades of experience in supplying a broad range of network and communications services in the UK and Germany. Today, the privately-held company employs over 2,500 people and has one of the largest engineering field forces in the UK. Customers include: Airwave, BT, Deutsche Bahn, EADS, Merseyside Fire & Rescue, the Metropolitan Police, National Express, Network Rail, Stagecoach, Tube Lines, and the UK Highways Agency.
Serco Docklands is part of Serco Group plc, one of the world’s leading outsourcing companies. Serco is in its second franchise to operate, maintain and market the Docklands Light Railway, the light rail system that connects the City of London with Docklands and East / South East London. DLR is one of Britain’s great transport success stories. Now carrying over 67 million passengers annually, it was one of the first light rail systems in Britain, with one of the world’s most advanced automatic train control systems. DLR has recently opened extension to Woolwich Arsenal and 2010 sees the next extension to Stratford International.
